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war on drugs

Heroin and its analogues can be deadly. Heroin overdoses have more than tripled over the past couple of decades. The supply has ballooned; the price has plummeted. And, since 2013, dangerous synthetics have hit the streets in truly vast quantities. These are facts, beyond dispute.

Despite this, it has become apparent to me that there is in fact no such thing as an “Opioid Epidemic”. Despite massive reporting and editorializing on the subject, hearings in Congress, and now even a potential military deployment (more…)

In the Mexican state of Sinaloa, a new wave of violence has erupted since the January inauguration of new Governor Quirino Ordaz Coppel, who reportedly is contesting the Sinaloa Cartel‘s exclusive control of the police force.

Meanwhile, in Mindanao, in the southern Philippines, martial law has been declared following armed clashes between the national army and Moro separatists allegedly fighting under the banner of Abu Sayyaf, an ISIS affiliate which funds its activities through the smuggling of guns, drugs, and slaves — much like the Sinaloa Cartel, albeit with a strikingly different ethos.

What do these two conflicts have in common? Among other things, they’re both being largely paid for by the United States. Both sides of both wars are using American dollars to kill each other. (more…)

President Donald J. Trump: The words are painful for many of us. This is understandable; his persona is not one that engenders trust and comfort, and we’ve had it easy for eight years. Obama was quietly charismatic and sought bipartisanship; Trump is almost diametrically opposite. So yes, it’s a bit of a shock.

There’s tons of articles about Trump’s character, how he won the election, obstructionism then and now, and so on. Yesterday the media message was all about fake news; right now the big thing is his cabinet confirmation process, and tomorrow there’ll be something else, depending on what people choose to be scandalized about. But in the mean while, things will be happening, and we shouldn’t lose sight of them amid all the hype.

So let’s boil it down to essentials: We’ve got a brand new president coming in, and his platform was Reform. (more…)

The “War On Drugs” has failed, and we lost. We’ve spent billions of dollars annually and trillions overall, and we’ve accomplished two things: We’ve increased the street price of drugs, enriching the cartels in the process, and we’ve imprisoned millions of our own citizens, hopelessly overburdening the criminal justice system by so doing.

We have completely failed to eradicate drug use.

Some of you think I’m nuts already, and that’s fine. I’ll provide a bit of history next and you can decide afterward if the facts justify my statements. (more…)